The Princess, The Pirate and The Thief
by ForeverIsAnAwfullyLongTime
Summary: Out of all the strange, weird and downright stupid situations Emma Swan had found herself in this past year, this probably topped the list. Right now, she was on a boat, or a pirate ship, scouring the seas of Neverland, with Captain Hook and Rumpelstilksin, and his son, who happens to be her child's father, her first love, and she thought he was dead.


Out of all the strange, weird and downright stupid situations Emma Swan had found herself in this past year, this probably topped the list.

Right now, she was on a boat, or a pirate ship, scouring the seas of Neverland, with Captain Hook and Rumpelstilksin, and his son, who happens to be her child's father, her first love, and she thought he was dead! Meanwhile her parents, Snow White and Prince Charming, were searching the island with the Evil Queen.

Sounded pretty strange, but also quite tame compared to some of the other stuff that had happened. But this, it came pretty high on the 'Things I Must Never Ever Ever Do' list. It was just underneath 'Fall for Captain Hook' and 'Be friends with Regina', that one was at the top.

Emma tensed at the reminder of Hook. Things had been unusually awkward between them since what happened a couple of days ago.

* * *

_Emma was down in the weapons cabin when Hook walked in._

_"You found my weapons," he grinned._

_"Figured a gun won't do much good here," Emma replied._

_"You may need a little more sword practice," Hook teased._

_"Please, I managed to beat you," Emma rolled her eyes._

_"Of course you did darlin'," Hook smirked._

_Emma whipped her head around and looked at him with narrowed eyes "What does that mean?"_

_"I think it means exactly what you think it does," he replied._

_"You let me win!" Emma exclaimed, shoving him lightly._

_"Well there was no way you were going to beat me," Hook sighed._

_Emma glared at him "I'll take you right now,"_

_He stepped closer to her "You will now will you?"_

_Emma looked up at him, trying not to focus on how close to each other they were standing_

_"Yes,"_

_"And what if you win?" Hook murmured._

_"You have to teach me to sail," Emma grinned._

_Hook's eyes widened. Emma wasn't the most boat friendly person, so far she had nearly damaged it 5 times, in one day. There was no way she was getting anywhere near that wheel._

_"Deal," he nodded reluctantly._

_"And if you win?" Emma asked._

_Hook grinned "I get to do this again,"_

_"Do what?" Emma's brow furrowed in confusion._

_Hook simply pulled her into a kiss. She was shocked at first, but then she found herself responding, wrapping her arms around his neck as his snaked around her waist._

_Hook was the one to pull away, he smirked "Let me know," he winked, before exiting and leaving Emma standing there wondering what the hell just happened._

* * *

That was before Neal had turned up and it got complicated. Emma hasn't spoken to him about Neal, or Neal about Hook. But she needed to. She couldn't ignore that she felt something for Hook, but how could she just forget about Neal? Finally, she decided instead of moping around up here, she would be brave and go downstairs to talk to Neal.

Unbeknownst to Emma, she had two observers.

The first was Hook, who watched her walk down with curiosity, he wanted to know where he stood, so if she was telling Bae-Neal, whoever he was, he was damn well going to listen as well. With that, he briskly (but quietly) followed her down the stairs.

The second, was Gold. He was relieved his son was alright, but watching Emma struggle between him and the pirate puzzled him. As far as he was concerned, Bae was Emma's True Love. But, he couldn't help but notice how different the pirate was around her, he was gentle and caring, and you could see their connection. Honestly, it was all a little too high school for his liking...

* * *

Emma took a deep breath and knocked on the door to Neal's cabin. Moments later, he appeared at the door.

"Emma," he sounded a little surprised "Come on in," he gestured her inside.

Emma turned so she was facing him "I need to talk to you about something,"

Neal's face turned serious "Should I be worried?"

"No," Emma said hastily "Well I guess it depends how you look at it," she considered.

"Just say what you need to say," Neal smiled gently.

"Okay, so, the other day, before we found out you were alive," Emma started to explain "I was down in the weapons room and Hook came in, and we were talking and then next thing I knew," she paused "He kissed me," she confessed "But I kissed him back!" she added hastily.

She then started to talk really fast "And it's not like I meant for it to happen it just did and I didn't want to tell you because I was scared of how you would react because I know you guys have history and-" Neal cut her off mid rant.

"Hey, it's okay," he laughed lightly at her rambling.

Emma blinked "It is?"

"I mean yeah," Neal shrugged "It's not as if it meant anything,"

As soon as he saw the look on her face he knew that wasn't true "Ah," he frowned.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Emma said quietly "I know I love you, but I can't ignore how I feel about Hook, we have a connection, and it's unfair, to me, you and him, for me to ignore it just to stay safe and be with you. I need some time to just think about how I feel so I can be fair to everyone," she explained, and looked up at him.

"I understand," Neal said softly "Take all the time you need, all I want is for you to be happy,"

Emma smiled and he pulled her into a hug.

Outside the door, Hook sighed. He didn't deserve her, Emma deserved to have someone who would do anything for her, even let her be with someone else if that's what she chose. Neal was that person, not him. And he had to make sure Emma ended up with someone who would treat her right and love her everyday. And he knew exactly what had to be done to make sure that happened.

* * *

The next morning, Emma was still feeling good after her talk with Neal, and was feeling pretty good about how her talk with Hook would go. She knew he could be rational and caring when he needed to, so she wasn't worried at all. She saw him standing looking out over the water, his back to her.

"Hey," she called, walking towards him "Can I talk to you?" she was standing right behind him now.

Hook took a deep breath, and put on the most steely demeanour he could before turning to face her, instantly her face dropped.

"What?" she asked.

"Were you planning on just telling him what's happening?" Hook demanded, making his tone as cold as possible.

"Wait, I don't-" Emma started but he cut her off.

"It was pathetic of me to ever think you could handle something maturely," he snapped "You don't even give me the courtesy of an explanation, you just leave me to wonder what's going on!"

"I-" Emma's eyes were wide.

It was time for the major blow "You are acting like a stuck up princess, what you pulled was the bitchiest and most immature thing you have ever done!" he exclaimed angrily.

Emma felt like she was going to burst into tears, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction, so instead, she narrowed her eyes at him "I don't know what I was thinking!" she snapped "How there could ever be a choice between you and Neal is stupid! You are way to immature to ever handle anything!" she turned on her heel and stormed off, just before she reached the stairs she turned back "Oh and thanks for making my decision so much easier!" she snapped before walking the rest of the way down.

Hook slumped in defeat, he'd done it. She would be happy, but at the cost of his happiness, his light. But, she needed someone who would treat her right, do anything for her. He was pulled away from his thoughts when someone cleared their throat.

"I know what you did," Gold said.

Hook rolled his eyes "Right,"

"I know you think she deserves someone who will sacrifice their happiness for hers," Gold continued "But, isn't that exactly what you just did?" he then walked off, leaving Hook with that thought.

* * *

Emma walked very fast away from Hook, and started to head towards Neal's room, the tears were threatening to spill over any second, she knocked frantically on the door until she heard footsteps from the other side.

The door opened up to reveal Neal, who's face instantly dropped when he saw the look on Emma's.

"What-" he started to ask, but he didn't even get the full sentence out before she burst into tears.

He quickly pulled her into the room, and closed the door behind her, pulling her into him. Emma continued to cry, holding on to Neal like he was her life support. After a couple of minutes, her crying subsided, and Neal led her over the the bed, sitting her down and sitting in front of her.

"What happened?" he asked gently.

Emma sniffed "Hook,"

Neal's face hardened "What did he do?"

Emma repeated everything Hook had said to her back to Neal, nearly bursting into tears by the end.

Neal was livid. How dare he.

"I'm so sorry Em," he murmured, pulling her into a hug again.

"It's not your fault," Emma shook her head "I never should have expected anything else from him..."

Neal pulled away and looked her in the eyes "You don't need him,"

Emma smiled "I know," and then she leaned in, and kissed him.

It had been so long since they had kissed, and they both immediately melted into each other, remembering how amazing it used to be, and marvelling at how it still was. The kiss was quickly becoming more heated, and neither of them had the will power to stop it, so they didn't.

* * *

At the same time in a cave somewhere in the mountains of Neverland, David sat bolt upright, jolted out of sleep.

"What?" Snow muttered, pulled from sleep by the sudden movement.

"My Emma senses are tingling," David's eyes narrowed.

"You don't have Emma senses," Snow sighed, not even opening her eyes.

"Yes I do," David argued, lying back down again "You'll see,"

* * *

A while later, Neal left Emma asleep in the cabin, and headed up the stairs to find Hook. They needed to have a little talk.

He found him standing near the port of the ship, leaning over the edge. He walked towards him and cleared his throat to make his presence known, Hook turned to face him and sighed. This he had seen coming.

"Can I help you?" he said.

"I need to have a word with you about what you said to Emma," Neal crossed his arms.

"Go ahead," Hook muttered.

Neal went to reply, but then he stopped and looked closely at Hook. He didn't look angry, or annoyed. Just defeated and sad. And it clicked.

"You did it on purpose didn't you?" he asked, wide eyed.

Hook looked at him with raised eyebrows "Hmm?"

"Why?" Neal pushed.

Hook sighed "Because she's better off with you," he muttered.

Neal was shocked. He had never known Hook to do something as compassionate as this for anyone. It really showed how much he did care about Emma. But it didn't matter, Neal cared about her just as much and he was less likely to hurt her. But if Emma found out one day what Hook had done, and that Neal had known, it could ruin it all. He was torn.

Hook looked over and saw him deep in thought, he smirked "You're trying to decide whether you should tell her or not,"

Neal glared at him sharply "I honestly think she's better off not knowing, wouldn't want to give her false hope about you," he snapped.

Hook's eyes narrowed "Oh? And why is that?"

"Because she's with me now," Neal smirked, and watched as Hook's face fell "I don't want you anywhere near her,"

Hook laughed coldly "I'm pretty sure you're the one that's hurt her the most here,"

Neal's face hardened, and he swiftly punched Hook across the face "Stay away from her," he spat.

Hook stood up fully again, and Neal was surprised when he didn't even look mad "Don't hurt her again, or there will be a return for that," he said, before walking away, back down to his quarters.

* * *

The next morning, the ship was docked where Regina, Snow and David were supposed to be meeting them. Emma was getting anxious as they had been waiting for a fair time.

"What if something's happened to them?" she asked fearfully, pacing back and forth.

"Would you cut it out?" Hook snapped "You're making the whole ship move,"

Neal quickly walked over and stood in front of her before she blew up at Hook, and held her arms "They'll be here soon," he assured her.

Emma sighed, relaxing into him "I'm just worried,"

"I know," Neal murmured "But it's all going to be fine,"

Hook watched the scene, he could see how much of an effect Neal had on her, and this was one of the very few times he actually was glad of what he had done.

Emma pulled away, and leaned against the edge of the ship again, away from the ramp. She only turned when she heard footsteps, and immediately ran full speed towards Snow and David who had just walked up, running into a huge hug.

"Emma," Snow held her tight.

"Thank god," Emma breathed, looking at them both "I was so worried,"

"So were we," David told her.

"Some more than others," Snow rolled her eyes pointedly at David. Emma gave him a curious look, but he just shook his head

"Don't ask,"

"Any sign of anything?" Gold asked.

"No," Regina snapped, storming onto the ship "Nothing,"

"It's only been 3 days since we actually started looking," Hook reminded her.

"We've been here a lot longer," Snow added.

"There are are a few specific places we can try," Gold said.

"Can we just...rest for a few days?" David suggested.

"Yes," Emma butted in before Regina could protest, shooting her a glare.

"Resting will get us nowhere," Regina argued.

"You know what else will get us nowhere? Getting killed because we're all exhausted and not on guard," Emma shot back.

Regina rolled her eyes "That's a little melodramatic don't you think?"

"Actually," Hook spoke up "No, not really," he smirked.

Emma rolled her eyes "I wasn't asking you,"

Hook simply crossed his arms and went silent again.

Snow and David exchanged a look "Did we miss something?" David whispered to her.

"We'll ask Emma about it later," Snow replied.

"We can stay on the boat for a couple of days, but keep an eye out," Gold finalised.

"It would be a lot easier if Henry could actually see us," Neal said pointedly.

"Yes, well then everyone else could too," Hook rolled his eyes.

"Again, who asked you?" Neal snapped.

"Shut up," Emma exclaimed before Hook could reply "Or I will throw you both off this ship, clear?"

"Crystal," they both muttered.

Regina, Snow and David all exchanged confused looks, what the hell did they miss?

* * *

Emma was down in the cabin she shared with her parents about an hour later, lying on the bed deep in thought. Everyone else was upstairs picking out places to look, but she didn't want to be around anyone right now. To her annoyance, the door to the cabin opened and Snow and David walked in and stood in front of her bed, looking at her.

"Why do I feel like I'm about to be interrogated?"' Emma sighed.

"Because you are," Snow smiled.

"Things seem different between you and Hook," she pushed.

Emma sighed "It's nothing," she grumbled.

"Do I need to punch him for anything?" David asked.

"Pretty sure Neal beat you to it," Emma sighed.

"Emma. What happened?" Snow asked.

"You have to promise not to get mad, or punch anyone," she said pointedly to her father.

"Fine," David grumbled reluctantly "But don't underestimate your mother!" he reminded.

"I know, that was directed at both of you," Emma narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"All good," Snow assured her.

"Hook and I kissed," Emma blurted out quickly.

David's eyes nearly popped out of his head "WHAT?!"

"Damn it! I owe Regina 20 bucks!" Snow cursed.

Ignoring her mother, Emma turned to David "You said you wouldn't get mad!"

"I have the right to be mad!" David protested angrily.

"Don't worry!" Emma assured him, suddenly getting a little sad "Nothing's happened since..."

David immediately grew concerned "What did he do?"

Emma told them the whole story, from Hook blowing up at her to getting back with Neal.

"Told ya," David chided Snow when Emma told them about getting back with Neal "Emma senses,"

"Sorry what?" Emma frowned in confusion.

"Never mind," Snow shook her head.

"Now, excuse me while I go and punch that pirate for saying that to my daughter," David stood up.

"Charming," Snow warned "While I'm sure we'd all love to punch Hook, it's not the wisest course of action when we need him to help us navigate,"

"Please," Emma begged "Don't make it worse,"

"No! I will not tolerate him saying those horrible, untrue and hurtful things to my daughter!" David snapped angrily.

"David..." Snow tried to reason with him.

"No! It's unacceptable and I won't let her get upsetted by it without something being done!" David continued to rant.

"Dad."

Both heads whipped towards Emma with wide eyes. That was the first time she'd made any mention of those words since the mines.

"Please don't," Emma continued quietly.

David's face softened "I'm sorry, I just got so mad that he would say that,"

"Thank you," Emma said, surprising them both yet again.

"For what?" Snow asked curiously.

"No ones ever cared that much for me before," Emma replied with a small smile.

Her parents simply smiled "Well get used to it," Snow said.

Emma realised she had no problem with that.

* * *

The next couple of days went rather smoothly, there were minimal fights, and her and Neal were really reconnecting, and she was getting closer to her parents. But of course, it wasn't going to stay smooth sailing for long.

* * *

It was late, and Emma thought everyone else was asleep when she walked up to the top deck, but quickly darted around a corner when she saw Hook and Neal standing up there.

"What are you asking me to do?" Hook asked coldly.

"You know exactly what I'm asking you to do," Neal hissed back.

"So. Let me get this straight. You can't keep the secret from Emma any longer so when you tell her, you want me to pretend I had no idea you knew?" Hook raised his eyebrows.

Secret? What secret?

"Yes,"

"And why do you think I'll do it?" Hook challenged.

"Well," Neal smirked "The whole point of your little act was to make her choose me, so by doing this, you're keeping that up."

Emma's eyes widened. It had all been an act? And it suddenly all clicked. Hook had wanted her to be happy and safe, and he thought Neal could do a better job, so he was horrible to her, and when Neal found out, he didn't tell her because he knew she would go running to Hook! Wait. Did she really just think that?

Before Hook could reply to Neal, Emma stepped out and cleared her throat. They both turned with wide eyes to see a very pissed off Emma glaring at them.

"I can explain," Neal said quickly, knowing straight away she'd heard everything.

"Don't bother," Emma snapped "You said we could start over, so you decided to start with another lie," tears pricked at her eyes "How could you?" she whispered.

"Emma I-" Neal tried to explain.

"No. I don't want to hear it." Emma shook her head "I'm done, I'm sick of being hurt by you. This time, I mean it for real,"

Emma turned away, and Neal started to walk away. But before he could leave Hook spun him back around and punched him in the face, causing Emma to turn around in shock.

"I told you what would happen if you hurt her again," Hook snapped at Neal, who gave Emma one last look before retreating downstairs.

It was silent for a moment.

"Emma-"

"Shut up,"

Hook closed his mouth again.

Emma turned to face him "You are one hell of an actor," she sighed, causing Hook to smirk "And also incredibly stupid," his face turned to confusion.

"How so?" he questioned.

"To ever think for one moment that you can't give me just as much as he can," Emma walked towards him "Or that you aren't good enough, or you won't treat me right, because that is bull."

"Emma-"

"No no, let me finish, I need to say this." Emma stopped him again "I was always going to choose you, I don't want to be safe, or be in a relationship where there is no fire. Yes, it's going to be hard, and we're going to make mistakes, but it's worth it. The truth is, you scare me, because of how you make me feel, but, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Hook simply replied by pulling her mouth to his and kissing her passionately, Emma kissing him back eagerly.

"AHEM,"

They both pulled apart to see a very unhappy David glaring back at them.

Oh. Crap.

* * *

**A/N: okay, so Neal came out as a little bit of a jerk here, I honestly did not mean for that to happen. Everything he did was out of his love for Emma. I really don't hate Neal, I like him and Hook but he came out as a lot more of a jerk in this than I intended...sorry. Honestly I really can't decide whether I like SwanFire or Captain Swan. I'm one of the few who doesn't mind. Anyway, hope you enjoyed :)**


End file.
